Not so fast!

Just when you think it’s time to get that hour of sleep back that they took from you in the spring, they pull crap like this:

Surprise! Daylight Saving Pushed Back One Week by 2005 Energy Conservation Act

Monday, October 29, 2007

Fox News

If you turned your clocks back one hour Sunday morning thinking it was the annual move back to Standard Time, all you succeeded in doing was moving into a new time zone.

The move from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time doesn’t happen this year until the first Sunday in November, instead of the usual last Sunday in October.

That means computer software, cellphones and other electronic equipment that is programmed to automatically change will have to be manually reset Monday morning back to Daylight Saving Time, then changed back one hour next Sunday.

President Bush in 2005 signed the Energy Conservation Act, which pushed back the time change in an effort to squeeze just a little more daylight — and a bit of energy savings — into the daily lives of Americans.

The legislation also changed the “spring forward” to Daylight Saving Time, which next year will be on March 9.

Government estimates place the overall energy savings at just over 1 percent.

I don’t know what’s going on at your house or place of employment but my phone at work is an hour behind.  Needless to say, I’m bit confused today …more so than usual

I’m injured

About a month ago I pulled a muscle in my arm, near my wrist.  I went to the doctor and he gave me a muscle relaxer and some anti-inflammatory meds but I don’t like taking them.  This morning I woke up and my index finger was sore.  Now it’s swollen and throbbing.  So now I’m pretty sure I’m going to die.  Ok, I exaggerate a bit but seriously with all that’s going around these days …

*Update – Monday morning and I’m still here.  I over medicated, which for me isn’t hard to do, and over slept.  My finger seems better so I guess I’ll be ok

Breast Cancer Awareness, First Lady Laura Bush and Greta Van Susteren

Hi guys!  October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and First Lady Laura Bush headed to the Middle East this past week to spread the word.  Greta Van Susteren was lucky enough to go along with her and she has some amazing coverage on her blog, GretaWire.  Greta will be airing an interview with Mrs. Bush this coming week.  Here is what I’m asking of you (this is from her site):

“Here is where the favor comes in….and I can make this a challenge for you…a game…..I would appreciate it if you could each find 5 new people to watch our interview with Mrs. Bush who don’t usually watch ON THE RECORD. Breast cancer, as Mrs. Bush says, does not discriminate and just about everyone knows someone effected by this ugly disease. So….go find 5 new people to watch this as we spread the word about a very important topic. You can find these new people at work, at school etc. You never know when someone will watch the interview….and be inspired to get medical attention…and discover a problem early – when it is easy to treat.”

Please take the time to watch Greta’s show On the Record on Fox News at 10:00PM EST, Monday-Friday.  Also check out her blog, she has posted pictures and video of her trip!

Question of the day

November is right around the corner and while there aren’t any big elections this year I am still left thinking about voter registration.  I guess I’m thinking ahead to the Primary Elections for 2008.  Since I am registered as an Independent I cannot participate in the Democratic or Republican Primary Elections.  This has me thinking …am I fulfilling my duty as an American citizen?  Don’t get me wrong, I vote, but for some reason I think I’m limiting myself to choice A or B.  I think it’s time that I become a deciding factor in determining who A or B is.  Of course being in NY, I’m not sure how much my individual vote actually counts.  It’s not like it’s a swing vote state or anything.  But for some reason I feel as if I should be more active.  How can I complain if I don’t participate?

2008 Presidential Primary Calendar

World Series

The World Series starts tonight, minus the Yankees.  You can’t win them all or even some these days but there’s always next year.

I’m rooting for the Colorado Rockies.  They have had a lot of time off, which worries me.  Hopefully the rest will prove beneficial.  Maybe I should go to the mall and pick up some Rockies stuff for my lawn.  My neighbor is a Boston fan and I would like to see if he notices.  His wife and son are both Yankee fans and would probably understand. 

Dancing with the Stars

Yeah, I’m hooked.  I get sucked into all kinds of shows if I sit in front of the tv long enough but this is actually entertaining!  Too bad I have zero, nix, nill in the way of coordination because it really looks like fun.  OK, and then there’s Maks

General rambling

I’m bored :\

There is only so much coverage one can watch on these wild fires in CA.  It gets to be depressing after a while.  I’m not sure what scares me more, fire or water.  I hate the water, probably because I can’t swim (other than a mean doggie paddle).  To me the worse way to die would be drowning.  After watching these fires in action, I wouldn’t want to get caught up in that either.  I guess there isn’t really a good way to go, perhaps in your sleep?  That’s not all it’s cracked up to be either, you wouldn’t have the chance to say goodbye or anything.  UGH!!!  See, depressing!

On a semi-lighter note, growing up I had a friend who claimed she was never going to die.  I know we all think this but she believed it!  How delusional is that?  Or is it?  I wonder if she still believes this to be true?  Maybe therapy would help. 

OK, now that I have that out of my system on to some brighter news.  Halloween is just a week and a day away.  WOO HOO!!  I still don’t have a costume.  Yes, I still dress up …for the kids, yes that’s it!  I’ll have to come up with something this weekend.  Last year I was a doctor and the year before that a Gypsy.   

I’ll end on a high note …only 63 days until Christmas!!! 

County clerk sues DMV

Lawsuit filed as pressure increases County clerk sues DMV; opposing bill passes in Senate as GOP pledges to fight Spitzer plan

ALBANY — Opponents of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s plan to allow illegal immigrants to gain driver’s licenses turned up the pressure on the first-term Democrat on Monday, with Rensselaer County’s elected clerk filing a private lawsuit, Assembly and Senate Republicans threatening taxpayer-funded litigation and several hundred citizens rallying against the governor’s “unilateral” act.

“We are going to do everything that we can to keep that from happening,” said Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, in supporting a bill passed Monday night to derail the governor’s action.

Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola, a Republican, sued the state Department of Motor Vehicles in Albany County in an effort to block the governor’s policy and, as Merola told demonstrators on the Capitol steps, “to stop this nonsense.”

“The governor is not listening to the people; perhaps he may listen to the courts,” Merola said. “New York residents have stated loudly and clearly that we are not in favor of giving licenses to illegal aliens and all we get from the governor are lectures on how we are wrong, and that if we were as smart as he was, we would understand and support this policy,” Merola said.

Spitzer’s big idea

Group rallies against Spitzer’s licensing plan
10/22/2007 3:32 PM

ALBANY, N.Y. — Tensions are high, and people are angry. There was a rally on the steps of the Capitol Monday against Governor Spitzer’s plan to give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses.

A group called New Yorkers Against Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Aliens held the protest to show what they call overwhelming opposition to his plan.

Organizers say illegal immigrants should not have the privilege of getting driver’s licenses, since they are violating federal law by coming into the country illegally. They say Governor Spitzer’s action of continuing to ignore other lawmakers and citizens is “pushing ahead against the will of the people.”

“He was upholding the laws, now he’s stepping on the laws. It’s just not right,” said John O’Grady.

“We are crippled. We are crippled here with this governor. I believe he should be impeached,” said Cindy Ginsburgh.

Governor Spitzer continues to stand by his plan, saying his proposal is the right thing to do, and that most of the opposition stems from a misunderstanding of the facts.

 

Daylight Saving

I can’t let go of the fact that it’s pitch black outside when I have to get up in the morning.  Who’s bright idea was it to push out the date when we set out clocks back?  LOL  Bright idea …I crack myself up!  With a little research, here’s what I found:

“Starting in 2007, daylight time begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. On the second Sunday in March, clocks are set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time, which becomes 3:00 a.m. local daylight time. On the first Sunday in November, clocks are set back one hour at 2:00 a.m. local daylight time, which becomes 1:00 a.m. local standard time. These dates were established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. no. 109-58, 119 Stat 594 (2005).

Not all places in the U.S. observe daylight time. In particular, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not use it. Indiana adopted its use beginning in 2006.

• In 2006, daylight time begins on April 2 and ends on October 29.
• In 2007, daylight time begins on March 11 and ends on November 4. [New law goes into effect.]
• In 2008, daylight time begins on March 9 and ends on November 2.
• In 2009, daylight time begins on March 8 and ends on November 1.

Many other countries observe some form of “summer time”, but they do not necessarily change their clocks on the same dates as the U.S.

Daylight time and time zones in the U.S. are defined in the U.S. Code, Title 15, Chapter 6, Subchapter IX – Standard Time.

History of Daylight Time in the U.S.

Although standard time in time zones was instituted in the U.S. and Canada by the railroads in 1883, it was not established in U.S. law until the Act of March 19, 1918, sometimes called the Standard Time Act. The act also established daylight saving time, a contentious idea then. Daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, but standard time in time zones remained in law. Daylight time became a local matter. It was re-established nationally early in World War II, and was continuously observed from 9 February 1942 to 30 September 1945. After the war its use varied among states and localities. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local exemptions from its observance. The act provided that daylight time begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October, with the changeover to occur at 2 a.m. local time.

During the “energy crisis” years, Congress enacted earlier starting dates for daylight time. In 1974, daylight time began on 6 January and in 1975 it began on 23 February. After those two years the starting date reverted back to the last Sunday in April. In 1986, a law was passed that shifted the starting date of daylight time to the first Sunday in April, beginning in 1987. The ending date of daylight time was not subject to such changes, and remained the last Sunday in October. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed both the starting and ending dates. Beginning in 2007, daylight time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.” (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/daylight_time.php)